A Matchmaker's Life for Me
by ValkyrieMissle
Summary: Matsumoto decides that she has had enough of her captain being a spoil sport and decides to play matchmaker and find Hitsugaya a gf. Hitsuruki Join the army!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first Bleach fanfiction and I'm hoping it will turn out alright... any and all comments are welcome... constructive criticism please... and forgive any spelling errors please as i had to use note pad that won't even let you italicize let alone spell check... thoughts are inside the single quotation marks...**

**ENJOY OR ELSE!! Have a nice day :)**

Matsumoto was bored. For once she actually wanted to do something, anything. She hadn't had a good fun project in forever, and was really hoping she could stumble on to something soon, something spectacular that the soul society would talk about for months. She contemplated what she could do as she pushed piles of paper out of the way to close the door to her office.

"Did you get your paperwork done today Matsumoto?" Toushiro Hitsugaya knew there was no way the red head had done her duties that day, as he had only gotten on to her about it twice that day.

"Of course, captain." Matsumoto put on the best hurt face she could make carefully blocking the door with her body."Why do you always think I haven't"

"Because you don't"

"Lighten up, Captain. Life isn't all about paper work." The 10th squad liuetenant was met with a frosty glare.

"It isn't all about drinking and sleeping either. Get it, done for real, Matsumoto." The white haired captain strode out of the office knowing that hanging around would just cause his subordinate to work more sluggishly.

'That kid really needs a girlfriend. Someone who will teach him to have a little fun...' Matsumoto gasped. That was it! She would play matchmaker and find Toushiro a girl. Not just any girl though, she had to chose someone who would be laid back and would mesh with the no-nonsense 10th squad captain. That would shake up the soul society! The little prodigy in love? Simply brilliant. A grin spread over the red heads face. this was going to be fun.

--

Rangiku walked into the weekly Soul Reaper Women Organization meeting witha huge smile plastered on her face. All the female soul reapers were supposed to attend these meetings although often there were a few missing due to missions and work and what not. Matsumoto personally loved the meetings because it gave her an excuse to drop whatever she was supposed to be doing for Hitsugaya and gossip or plan how to adorify the soul society.

"Yay! we can finally start!" Yachiru glomped the well endowed woman squeeking with happiness.

Soi Fon got to her feet. "Yes, but what are we going to talk about? the entire soul society is still recovering from the Aizen incident," Momo flinched at the mention of her former captain's name. The poor girl still believed in Aizen's innocence, it was infuriating and heartbreaking at the same time. However Soi Fon was having some difficulties at feeling any sympathy for the girl. "Nothing is going to get done, I vote to post-pone the meetings until this mess is delt with." The room was filled with "aye" s and the deafening sound of chair legs scraping against the floor.

"Hold it" Matsumoto's voice rang out through the room. "I'm going to need your help with something"

Meanwhile Toushiro had decided it was definately possible for his lieutenant to have gotten her act together and done some real work. Maybe not probable, but certainly possible. She was away at her silly meeting right now and it couldn't hurt to see how much she'd actually accomplished that day.

He pushed against the office door and found that it wouldn't open more than a quarter of an inch at the most. He pressed one of his emerald eyes to the crack in the door to see if he could discover what was blocking the door, but he was met with only darkness. Toushiro sighed and pushed a little harder. There was still no give in the door. Growing more and more curious by the second Captain Hitsugaya threw every pound of his weight against the wooden door. He was rewarded by the door slamming open and carried by his momentum, the short captain was thrown rather comically, head first into a pile of paper that stood taller than himself. Whoosh! paper flew up everywhere and Toushiro felt he was going to be suffocated by the sheer weight of the massive amounts of paper landing on him. Flailing his arms and legs Toushiro was able to escape his almost paper tomb and flick the light switch.

As soon as he was able to see the room, he wanted to kill Matsumoto. Preferably slowly and painfully...Maybe he would strangle her... He would have to attack from the back. God only knows what would happen if he tried to reach her from the front... he'd probably bounce.  
Ink and paper covered every inch of the office. The desk was hidden among countless pages and there were several Hitsugaya sized stacks. Just to be spiteful the captain knocked a few of the piles over. How had it gotten this bad? Thinking back on it Toushiro realized that with all the chaos Aizen had caused, it had been forever since he had actually made his second in command do any work, he had just assumed that she had been doing it.

He turned to leave then stopped and sighed. If this never got done, it would be him getting the riot act from 1st captain Yamamoto, not Rangiku. The 10th squad leader carefully cleaned off a space to sit and started working trying not to think about the hours of life he was about to lose.

--  
"So what you guys think?" Matsumoto had filled all the women in on her little scheme and was being met with mixed reactions.

"I don't think Toshiro would like that idea very much..." Momo said quietly. Her statement was met with many anonymous agreement noises.

'Dammit' she had forgotten just how popular her captain was with the women. "Whether or not he would like the idea is irrelevant, and I swear if any of you breathe even one word of this meeting to anyone not present..." Matsumoto let her voice trail off, hoping the tone of her voice was scary enough to impose upon the women how important it was for Toushiro to NEVER learn that she was behind any of this. "Alright, so I was thinking we need to find a girl similar to the captain and maybe shorter...?" A few women snickered at that.

"I'm short!" Yachiru pulled at Matsumoto's cloak. The red head patted the little girl on the head.

"Sorry Yahciru, you're not quite what I'm looking for... and just imagine how sad ken-chan would be if you left him"

The little girl pouted for a second only to be replaced by a big grin. "Okay then!"

"What about Rukia Kuchiki?" An unidentifiable voice called from somewhere at the end of the table. 'hmmm... Rukia...the unseated soul reaper was actually shorter than the captain... and they were both ice controllers...she definately had a sense of humor... yes, this could work'

"But what about ichigo"

"Yeah! and Renji"

"So what about them? they had their chance, If they wanted her they should've taken her. Now someone else should get a shot." There was a lot of muttering around the room in response to this. 'This is going to be a major problem' thought Rangiku. There were too many women against the pairing and surely someone would let something slip and then she would be toast... well maybe more like ice cream but you get the point.

"You know what? You girls are right... this was a bad idea. Sorry for wasting your time." Matsumoto bowed her head, the very picture of defeat. The room let out a collective sigh of relief. 'Geez thats creepy...Maybe i should warn the captain not to wander into any dark alleys by himself...'

**R&R plz. and for those of you wondering i will be continuing my other fanfics but my notebook got soaked and i have to wait for it to dry before i can do anything else :(**

Love you!


	2. Watermelon pt 1

**Author's note:**

**I apologize for one, the wait time on this... and two, the filler-yness of the chapter... only chapter two and we have a filler. it took a suprising number of words to get this idea out and i'm not even proud of this scene. bangs head on computer desk please try to enjoy :)**

'_Where could that girl have gotten to?, The soul society is way to huge for me to be hunting down one little girl_.' Rangiku had basically looked up every tree, under every rock and still hadn't seen anything of the raven-haired soul reaper. The things she did for her captain...

"Oh hello Captain Ukitake." Rangiku barely noted the captain's presence, she was so wrapped up in her hunt.

"Looking for something?" The sickly man asked noticing how the woman looked a little lost.

"Huh? what? no-no..." _'Where could Rukia be??_' For the first time Matsumoto realized who she was talking to. Captain Ukitake. To be more specific, Rukia's captain. If any one knew where she was it would be him. "Actually yes. Have you seen Kuchiki Rukia today?"

He smiled. "Of course. We just got finished training. She's probably still back by the training grounds with Captain Byakuya."

"Thank you soo much captain." _Haha! _Rangiku mentally did a happy dance that would've made Ikkaku proud. Now the only thing left to do was set up her trap and Captain Hitsugaya would have to at least talk to the Kuchiki girl. As far as she knew, their interactions had been few and far between. She hoped that the first step in her plan would begin forging the friendship between the two, and then she would strike for real. Give one of them the extra push into a real relationship.

Now she would have to trek the long journey back to the office to collect her supplies.

Several minutes later Rangiku Matsumoto stepped through the door way of the office and ran smack into a very, very angry Toushiro Hitsugaya.

"Oh hello Captain. Hehe. Sorry about that. She stepped back. _'I hope he didn't go into my office..._'

"Matsumoto... if I EVER see your office in such disrepair again..." The room suddenly got very cold.

_'Uh-oh. He looked_.' Matsumoto folded her arms over chest trying to contain what little body heat the sudden temperature drop hadn't taken. She was startled to see a little cloud every time she breathed out. Captain Hitsugaya was really mad. and there was his twitch. She was doomed. _'Crap'_

"My deepest apologies Captain, I was coming back to work on it." '_Liar_.' Oh geez. was she developing a conscience? She opened the door and met no resistance. "Huh?"

"You are extremely fortunate that I had no other work to attend to."

Matsumoto's jaw almost hit the ground. The room was spotless. all the billions of pages had obviously been taken to their proper filing homes. She could see the floor, the desk, had there been four walls before? It was amazing. "T-that was w-weeks worth of p-paperwork." She was so astounded she was beginning to stutter.

"Obviously you over exaggerate. It was only a couple hours worth." Toushiro paused. He had gotten over his initial anger at seeing his lieutenant saunter in here as if she hadn't a care in the world. Although he did not believe for a second that that was why she had returned to the building. Something was up.

"But how did you get it sent to all the divisions so fast? There must of been papers from every division..."

"Matsumoto, I'm a Captain. Don't you think I can recruit a few gophers?" This was mildly amusing. It was so rare he got to see his vice-captain in this state. "Of course if I ever see that you have been taking advantage of the fact that I'm too busy to hassle you about your work your fate will not be pretty."

She nodded and then pulled the little white haired man into a giant bear hug. The bottle cap of something, probably sake or some other type of alcohol almost brained the poor kid. Toushiro tried to get the woman off him by humming a warning, as he was too afraid of what would happen if he opened his mouth. But it was to no avail. Remembering something he had seen Ichigo do to Karin he shoved a finger into her side.

Totally unprepared for the attack, Matsumoto yelped and released her captain, which was of course the intent of his action. He quickly moved out of range of his lieutenant and put his hands on his knees, panting for breath. If he ever got a hold of whoever told her that that was the best place to store her drinks... Catching his breath. Hitsugaya remembered what he had been going to ask her before her unprecedented attack. "I know you are not really in here to do paper work. So why did you come back?"

"Can't I visit my favorite captain?" _'Crap, crap, crap_. There was no way she could get her 'supplies' with Hitsugaya standing there. Or maybe she could...

He snorted. "Yeah right. Do I look like an elementary school kid to you?" He mentally dared her to say what he knew she was thinking

_'Yes, yes you do'_

"No, of course not. I really wanted to see you, and get this great, big, juicy watermelon out of my fridge. She pushed a panel to reveal a fridge she kept her emergency liquor and of course watermelon in. She'd never had a reason before now to actually use the emergency watermelon, so every couple of weeks she would have to leave a well ripened watermelon on her captain's porch. He'd always assumed that Captain Ukitake had been leaving them and so it had caused no problem to her. But now she was going to have to puppy-dog pout her way into getting a new secret fridge so as to keep her get-out-of-jail-free-card in a safe place. She could just imagine Toushiro sneaking back here after dark and gorging himself on it.

His eyes went wide. That accursed fruit was back. The stupid stuff was his addiction. And it had been here just lurking there not two feet from where he sat this entire time? Oh god he was going to attack her for it. He saw the innocently blank look on his vice-captain's face and knew that was what she wanted. Fine. If she wanted a fight, she would get one.

"Oh you want this?" Rangiku thought he was going to boor a hole into the melon, he was staring so hard. 'That kid needs an AA meeting or something. This is ridiculous.' "Well you are going to have to catch me." She took off through the door, sprinting as fast as her legs could take her. _'The training ground, the training ground... Please let me beat him...' _

**haha wouldn't that be funny if he actually went to an aa meeting? **

**I am Toushiro Hitsugaya and I am addicted to watermelon. O.O**


	3. Watermelon pt 2

**A/N: blarg! just read it .**

Toushiro watched his lieutentant run through the door into the soul society. She had to be evil, no one could manipulate him quite like her. She didn't lift a finger, but with out saying a word she would get him to do all her work. Rangiku must be Satan incarnate. That was the only explanation. Captain Hitsugaya sighed. Of course he would be following her. He noticed his feet had begun moving even without his permission. Okay, so he would follow her. Fine. But he wasn't running.

Where was Matsumoto leading him?

Why did she feel she needed to go to such extremes?

Why in the Seireitei was he giving in and following her?

Would there be fresh watermelon in the fridge tomorrow?

Hitsugaya shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. Matsumo's rapidly fleeing soul pressure suddenly stopped.

Why was she stopped at the training ground? What was so important that he had to be lured out there like a fish on a hook? Toushiro carefully felt around his lieutenants presence and hit the massive power of Captain Kuchiki and the lesser power of Kuchiki Rukia. What in the world was going on?

Matsumoto skidded to a halt somehow managing to keep her hair looking great after her all out sprint. Byakuya and Rukia were locked in a rather 'heated' argument. the only shouting was on Rukia's part, but you could tell Byakuya was rather angry by the sheer soul pressure radiating out from him. His face was blank as ever but the anger in his eyes caused them to burn brighter than usual.

"When are you going to give me a chance?! I could be a lieutenant by now!" Rukia's voice was beginning to break.

_Dammit. i picked a really bad time._ Matsumoto stepped back from the argument deciding she would cut in at a more appropriate time.

"We have discussed this before. It is within your best interest--"

"My best interest is to be promoted and reach Bankai and actually help the soul society! We have not discussed anything!"

"This conversation is childish. I will not be swayed. Talk to me again when you are ready to have an intelligent conversation.

Somehow even more imposing then usual, Byakuya Kuchiki turned on his heel, midnight black cloak swirling out behind him and began distancing himself from his adoptive sister who was at the moment miming stabbing him.

Matsumoto stifled a giggle. "Hi Rukia!"

Rukia turned to Rangiku with suprised eyes, tears streaming down her face. _Oh God, She's crying._ In the soul society crying was viewed as nothing more than a sign of weakness. The little Kuchiki had been unfairly sentenced to death and never shed a tear. Byakuya must of really pissed her off.

"Hello Lieutenant Matsumoto." Rukia hurriedly wiped her face on her sleeve, wishing she could melt into the ground.

"Just call me Matsumoto, or Rangiku if it suits you better. It doesn't really matter to me, all these titles just start to wear on my nerves..."_'Enough with the small talk, the captain will be here any minute!_'

"O-okay, Lieut- Matsumoto."

"You like watermelon?" Matsumoto was starting to get a little uneasy. This wasn't how things were supposed to go…

"Yes! Its really yummy! I love those jolly rancher candy things they make out of it." Rukia was shocked at herself. Did she always just blurt out things like that?

Rangiku grinned. "Well then here you go!" The red head shoved the fruit into Rukia's arms, and without waiting to see her reaction, Matsumoto was off again.

"What the heck just happened?" Rukia muttered to herself. That had been really strange. Oh well. Free watermelon. The girl stared down at her 'gift'. How the hell was she supposed to eat it? She glanced at her Zanpakto. Bad idea Rukia, Very bad idea…

Some of Ichigo's latent disrespect for just about everything must of rubbed off on her during her over-exposure to him. The idea was starting to frustrate her, gnawing at her brain. She couldn't, no wouldn't go home. She did not wish to face Byakuya. So what was left to do?

Target practice.

Captain Hitsugaya was just in time to see Rukia launch her first attack on the helpless fruit. His helpless fruit. _Oh come on!_ _Matsumoto brought me out here so that I could watch this? This blows._

Rukia first split the fruit down the middle, and then brought her sword across the melon horizontally, slicing it neatly into fourths. She grinned. Mission accomplished. She felt better, and had food. Not that she needed to eat, but it was fun and tasted good.

She blushed when she saw the tenth division captain staring at her, the most shocked expression on his face. _Oh geez maybe he's upset that I used my Zanpakto for something as childish as cutting up a watermelon. Frick. _

What was with the tenth division and showing up when she least wanted anyone around?

Despite the fear growing in the pit of her stomach Rukia picked up a melon quarter and began munching. _Might as well have a last meal…_

Toushiro strode up to her trying his best to keep a stern face. It was killing him not to laugh. It was just so absurd. She had been going at the watermelon like she wanted to kill it, when in actuality Rukia had just been giving into a craving. It was just so….

"Can I have some?" 'Dammit. He had been going to reprimand her. Why was his mouth just spitting out random words?

Rukia's eyes widened. That hadn't been what she had been expecting. Not at all. Where was the "What the Hell were you doing?!" and the "You should have your powers revoked!"? She numbly handed him a slice, and took a seat against a rocky cliff at the edge of the grounds.

"Sooo…" Rukia began, letting her voice trail off- not really knowing what to stay but not wanting to give into the awkward silence creeping between them that was threatening to smother all chances of conversation.

Hitsugaya took a seat next to her, leaning against the rock face. "Matsumoto give you the watermelon or what?"

"Yes. She's a little- erm- odd."

Toushiro shook his head. "You haven't even scratched the surface."

Rukia giggled. Something was strange here. It wasn't exactly the captain himself…something was a little off… she spit a mouthful of seeds out next to her. That gave her an idea…

"I know what we can do! A watermelon seed spitting contest!"

Captain Hitsugaya swallowed his mouthful "A what?" this sounded interesting.

"Yeah right. Like you haven't done that before. I bet I can beat you!"

_What is this girl talking about? _

Matsumoto watched the two from above, an evil grin stretching across her features. She was brilliant. It would be a crime for the two NOT to get together. The way Toushiro was, once he had the little Kuchiki he would never let her go. It was just a matter of getting them to open their eyes to the facts staring them in the face.


	4. Momo loses it just a little

**Author's Note: Gasps OMG I am so so sorry this took so long to put up. I can list all my excuses all day but it doesn't really matter so… anyway you guys are AMAZING. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews. **

"Matsumoto, what are you doing?" An innocent voice called from behind the spying red head.

_Uh-oh._ Rangiku didn't have to turn around to recognize that particular vocal pattern. It was the one voice that she hadn't wanted to hear until she was safely away from her progressing scheme.

"What are you wa—"The cheerfully bewildered voice cut off mid sentence.

Rangiku thought she could've heard a pin drop in the following awkward silence. Momo's sandals disappeared from her view.

"Oh." In that one word Matsumoto could almost feel the pain and disbelief currently possessing the 5th squad lieutenant. She got to her feet, not really sure what she should do. Should she comfort the lost soul? Did Momo really deserve that chance?

She looked down upon her 'project' Rukia was getting fired up about something and it seemed from the set of his shoulders that Captain Hitsugaya was quite at home and relaxed with the little Kuchiki.

No. There was no reason for Matsumoto to destroy that happiness.

"But you said…"

"Momo, I know, but look how happy they are."

"How could he…? I thought…"

"That no matter how many times you distrusted him; raised your sword against him and blamed him for things out of his control he would always come back?!"

Rangiku covered her mouth. _Oh God what have I done?!_

"I'm so sorry Momo."

Momo just stood there. _Captain Aizen never would have allowed her to say such things. How could she?_

_That felt good!_ _I want to rant at her some more! _A little inner voice tempted Matsumoto to just let loose on the little black haired soul reaper.

Without any warning Momo snapped out of her reverie, throwing a tightly clenched fist into Matsumoto's face.

Rangiku didn't even totally comprehend what had happened. She felt a crunch and then little stars popped into her vision accompanied by an exploding pain. Through her spread fingers Matsumoto watch Momo calmly turn and walk away, looking as if nothing had just happened.

--

"Now you get to talk to big brother for me!" Rukia grinned while Toushiro's face began to slip back into it's ever serious look. There was only one captain he held in a higher respect than Rukia's "big brother" The idea of suggesting that someone as inexperienced as he was better at big brothering was well- unappealing to say the least.

"Oh come on! You don't really have to." Rukia began to feel the guilt wash over her. She wanted the smile to reappear on the captain's face. She wasn't really sure why, but she felt obligated to keep him happy. And his smile truly was…fantastic. She'd never seen it before today but she was unbelievably glad that she had been the one to put it there.

Captain Hitsugaya sighed. "No, a bet's a bet. Although I was looking forward to your servitude this week…" To say that he had been slaughtered in the contest would be an understatement. The raven-haired soul reaper had beat him by a good three feet. It was almost maddening.

"Well it was nice talking to you Ms. Kuchiki." In an instant he was back to his former respectful and official manner. He flashed a smile however when he saw the shadow of a frown flit over her features.

"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow if you're not too busy." It was an off-handed comment, one that Rukia had meant to keep locked behind her lips.

Captain Hitsugaya was suddenly struck by inspiration. "I suppose work would go a lot faster if there was an extra set of hands…"

She was happy to actually have work to do, but she kept her face blank. "Hmm. We'll see…"

The 10th division captain got to his feet, dusting his uniform off. _Holy crap. It's already dusk._ He supposed he ought to be getting home, but something was bothering him, niggling at his brain.

Earlier when he and Rukia had been spitting sunflower seeds, there had been a sudden small spike in his lieutenants spiritual pressure. Normally he would have attributed it to her having tripped or drunkenly walked into a wall. But for some reason it just didn't feel the same. He sat off for the barracks trying to focus on the task at hand rather then his day with Rukia. She was oddly endearing in her own strange way. He could see why Ichigo and Renji fought so hard for her. It was silly, but for some reason when he had been around her he couldn't help but feel like she needed protecting.

It was very odd.

**Well, I hope none of the characters were too OOC… for some reason getting into Rukia's character is kinda hard… I hope the beginning sequence wasn't to extreme…**

**R&R plz! Constructive criticism is always welcome! **


	5. Good Luck with the Face

**Author's note: Geez, i'm sorry for the length of the last chapter (so short, even by my standards. Truth is it was only about half of the chapter... I was kind of impatient to post it... so I apologize in advance if this one ends up way short too :sweat:) It plays back and forth between Matsumoto and Hitsugay's thoughts. I thought it would get confusing if i italicized all of it... i kept the thoughts with that person's dialouge i think so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out who's thinking what...**

Matsumoto had decided against going to squad four. It was only a very minor broken nose. A quick, if not painful fix. No need to drag squad 4 into this. She checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure the break was invisible and groaned unhappily at the glass as she noticed the dark purple bruises beginning to take shape beneath her eyes.

"Dammit." That about summed it up. How was she going to explain this to captain Hitsugaya? Rangiku seriously doubted that he would be willing to believe that Momo had broken her nose, and it would surely lead to questions about what had provoked his childhood friend.

"This sucks."

_Thump, thump._ Someone was knocking.

"Great." the red head muttered to herself. This was going to be interesting. "Come in!"

"Hey Matsumoto!" The woman in question jumped about four feet. She had been sure it would be Hitsugaya knocking. She was wrong.

Renji took a long look at her face.

"Wow. Momo did quite a number on you huh?"

She glared at him, deciding to not even gratify his statement with a reply.

Renji's smirk faded.

"So Why are you here?"

"I wanted to apologize for Momo. She feels... Uh really bad. He was lying about the second part. She'd been almost bragging when she'd told him and Izuru.

Rangiku pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. She had sensed the lie.

"Well why isn't Momo here then? Why do you have to say sorry for her?"

"She wanted you to actually listen, not just bite her head off." Renji supplied quickly. He was good at this lying thing.

Ranngiku nodded once, still not believing the sixth squad lieutenant.

_Thump, Thump._ Wow. lots of visitors today. She sighed. "Come in!"

"Hey Matsumoto. How are y-?" Captain Hitsugaya stopped mid-sentence upon seeing his vice-captain's unhappy face.

"That's my cue to leave." Renji looked down at the tenth division captain. "Stay away from Rukia. Or else."

Ugh. Matsumoto wanted to pound her head on something. Or hurt Renji. Yes. That would do quite nicely.Her project was quickly turning into a nightmare.

"Um. Liutenant, What happened to your face?" His eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. How did Renji know about him spending the day with Rukia? And how was that any of his bussiness?

"Um. I fell down some stairs." That could break a nose right?

He nodded, accepting her story. "Why was Abarai here?"

"We were discussing the meeting. You know, vice captain stuff."She waved him off playfully. She hated lying to him. It felt almost mean.

"Okay then. Well good luck with your um... face." Why did this feel obsenely awkward? Was it Renji? Or just the fact that there was no alcohol on Matsumoto's breath and thus no way she could've been that clumsy sober?

"I think you should get that healed up. Bruises don't fit the image of you everyone is used to. He kept his face serious. It would be better for his lieutenant if everyone and thier mothers wern't asking her what had happened.

"Yes sir"

Something was definately wrong with his second in command. She seemed well... not angry exactly, but certainly irratated. "I asked Kuchiki Rukia to help us out tomorrow. I thought you could use the help." His statement did far more than he had hoped. Matsumoto's eyes lit up and a smile stretched across her features.

Wow. Maybe the day wouldn't end on such a sour note after all.

"Thank you captain, That was incredibly sweet of you." She went to hug him, but stopped herself just in time. Why not give the kid a break? She yawned, stretching her arms far above her head. "I had a busy day. Going to bed. Good night Captain."

**Oh geez. this was ALOT shorter than i was thinking it would be D: Sorry. But i'll be updating way quicker from now on. i'm sorry there was no real action in this chapter. i just wanted to set the foundation for Renji disliking Hitsugaya... i'm sorry if you feel your time has been wasted **


	6. Ink

**AN: Well I'm back, sorry to have disappointed you but I will make it up to you guys I promise, so without further ado I bring you chapter 6.**

_Ugh. _Toushiro Hitsugaya was still dead tired even after a full night's sleep. Well, more accurately the opportunity for a full night's sleep. He'd tossed and turned for half the night trying to figure out why Renji felt so threatened by him. Hitsugaya chuckled darkly. As if he'd go after Rukia for that particular purpose. What was the harm in spending a day or two with her? Renji was obviously off his rocker.

When Toushiro reached the office building, still wrapped up in his pondering he was deeply surprised to find Matsumoto there and already waiting. Her face looked marginally better but it wasn't nearly distracting enough to hide her smug look from Hitsugaya. She'd definitely been up to something.

Rukia was having trouble leaving the mansion she shared with Byakuya. He was suddenly back into that over-protective big brother mode and seemed determined to spend the entire day making up for the execution incident. Why didn't he get that she was long past over it?

"Nii-sama," Rukia paused. It was kind of irritating always being so respectful. "I have plans today. I have to _leave._"

"What plans could you possibly h—"Byakuya stopped himself, almost feeling Rukia's violet glare boring into his face. _Since when did eating breakfast interfere with plans?_ "Rukia don't you want to train today? I'll help." He quietly contemplated the next words out of his mouth. "I decided that I would revoke the order to halt your promotions _if_ you reach ban-kai." The sixth squad captain was grasping at straws now, but he had every intent to follow through on his promise. If she reached the final release there was no doubt Rukia would be able to hold her own in a fight.

Rukia snorted in disbelief, then gasped at her rudeness. Byakuya chuckled, a deep throated laugh that reverberated off the white walls in their dining room. Rukia just barely refrained from letting her jaw drop. _Wow._ That was enough to cause her to re-think her work day. _No—a promise is a promise_. Rukia conveniently glossed over the fact that she'd never actually agreed to show up.

"You're lying about the ban-kai thing." Rukia looked down, staring deeply into the three cheerios floating lazily around in her bowl.

"I am?"

"You don't trust Renji, and he's reached ban-kai."

"Renji is a…special case." Byakuya trailed off. He would probably trust his lieutenant with his life, but he honestly did try to get rid of him at every opportunity. Rukia wasn't trying to take away the last memory of Hisana he had. Renji was.

"Hmm… so you won't let me get a seated position, but you'll let me qualify for captain?"

"No." that was absolutely OUT of the question.

"I'm going." Rukia got to her feet, set her bowl in the sink and stormed out.

She hadn't even wanted to come home last night, but she knew that someone would tattle on her to Byakuya and then she'd definitely be placed under house arrest. Instead she'd settled for a compromise…sleeping on the roofing helpfully located just outside of one of the upper-level windows. Unfortunately, her plan fell through at around midnight when one of the maids had awoken Rukia with an earsplitting shriek (she had apparently thought that the sleeping form outside had been a dead body…) Needless to say, Byakuya had been aroused from his slumbers, dismissed the tearful maid and ordered Rukia into her room. All together, not a fun night.

Rukia wasn't even really aspiring to be a captain. It just seemed that her big brothers expectations set the bar a little too high. Everything just seemed so futile. Train until you're stronger than everyone else, but then be subordinate. Whatever.

Rukia was still fuming when she walked into the squad ten office…

KERSPLAT! The ink cartridge that Toushiro was holding in his hands exploded, drenching the entire room in sticky black ink.

Rukia blinked a few times trying to figure out what happened

Toushiro stared at the little now-empty box, trying to figure out what happened.

Matsumoto collapsed on the floor in a heap of giggles, knowing fully well what had happened.

"did that just--?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do you think she--?"

"Yep."

Both Rukia and hitsugaya looked at matsumoto who was now almost crying she was laughing so hard. The exchanged an annoyed look, and immediately started laughing when they caught sight of the others' ink stained face.

"Matsumoto, you're so cleaning this up—"

"…dry cleaning my hakama."

Both of them however were laughing way to had to be even remotely threatening.

A FEW MINUTES LATER…

"Did you want to be cleaning for a week?"

Matsumoto pouted although she was pleased her idea had worked. "its not my fault you can't change an ink cartridge"

"Ink cartridges don't explode on their own."

"What makes you think _I_ was behind it?"

"It seems like the childish sort of thing you would do."

"What do you know about childish, captain?"  
That one hit a very visable nerve. Being a child prodigy did have its down falls.

"I'm…"

Rukia had noticed the tension in the air and decided to take matters into her own hands. Unfortunately she had forgotten that she was in the company of a lieutenant and a captain. So, not shockingly, everybody was shocked when she cuffed both of them upside the heads, effectively stopping the tenth squad captain from finishing his angry retort.

Matsumoto's jaw dropped. _Damn, and this was going so well._

To her happy relief, Toushiro cracked a grin and lightly cuffed Rukia back. "Do you always go around hitting captains miss Kuchiki?"

"only when they are being over-sensitive" She grinned back. The violet eyed soul reaper reached out and pulled his one strand of flipped hair through her fingers.

Toushiro crossed his eyes, trying to follow the movement. Matsumoto literally stopped breathing

**Great way to end huh??**

**Hey awesome fans! Btw love you more than I can communicate in type… I need a favor that involves reading and reviewing a story I posted on another website… Its not a fanfic so I don't want to falsely advertise it as such so, if you're willing to try out something new (BTW its not exactly happy so…) then PM me and I'll send you the link ^^ **


	7. Bath House

Rukia gave Toushiro one of her bubbliest grins. "You look like a Dalmatian." She said wickedly, still grinning. Matsumoto exhaled when her captain only playfully retaliated with a gentle push. She didn't have to do any work, these two got along so well already.

Toushiro was also surprised at his mild reaction. He didn't mind that she taunted him. In fact it amused him, so few people could tell where the line was in his squad. Nobody knew how to play without pushing it too far. He felt happy joking around with her. Like he had with Momo when they were both younger and going to the academy. He hadn't felt that way in a long time. He sighed as the unhappy thoughts washed away his enjoyment.

The violet-eyed soul reaper noticed the change in his demeanor. _Did I do that? _She wondered quietly, startled by the change in her new friend. She gave a forced laugh and hurriedly apologized.

"Don't worry about it Rukia, I was thinking about…something else." He didn't want her to know he was thinking about Momo, and he wasn't sure why.

"Oh alright." She seemed unsure still. He gave her a smile, encouraging her to be happy.

Rukia's heart did a little summersault. _His whole face lights up when he smiles_ she thought noticing her reaction. Like all emotions, expressing this would make her seem weak. It would pass.

"Oh you two!" Matsumoto flapped her hand at the two awkward ink-stained soul reapers. "You should find a hot spring. "You're disgusting!"

"If you say one more word Matsumoto, I will have you demoted. Don't think I will forget this" The vein in Hitsugaya's head twitched. Grudgingly, he accepted the truth in her words. They were dirty… It would be hard to command looking like a 'Dalmatian' as Rukia had so tastefully described it.

"You can come with me, Rukia. Matsumoto, when I get back, I expect every surface to reflect my face back to me. I don't know what you were thinking, but I hope you never think it again" putting on his angry huffy face he grabbed Rukia by the arm and dragged her out with him.

Matsumoto grinned. _Bath houses. Now THAT has potential. _

Silence stretched between the two soul reapers. It wasn't awkward per say, but Rukia still grasped at something to say on their short walk to the baths.

"Do you like to draw?"

"What?" her violet eyes were so big and beautiful. He was distracted. _Lost, even?_ His inner narration snorted.

"You know, like this." She showed him one of her doodles of a rabbit. "I know it isn't very good, but its fun to do."

"it's interesting…" Toushiro remarked, hiding his amused reaction.

"You're better than Ichigo. He just tells me I suck. I know, I just don't care." _Oh crap it sounds a little like I'm whining. New subject new subject new subject!_

"You should smile more often." _Worse, worse, worse. Why?_ So much for keeping that one secret.

"Excuse me?"

"It makes you look better…not that you look bad….just that you look so much—well younger." _Handsomer _she added internally.

"With lieutenants like Matsumoto, that can be hard." Despite his words, he grinned. His green eyes sparkled.

They finally reached the bath house, removing their uniforms in favor of the steaming water. Ink pooled out into the water rinsing from their arms, hair and faces. Toushiro relaxed into the bath, shutting his eyes and enjoying the warm spring water. Rukia's mind reeled. She tried to ignore the way she'd been tempted to look at him while he prepared for his bath. Normally it wasn't a big deal for soul reapers to share a bath. They were comfortable in their own skins, they showed no emotion. Why should it matter if they bathed together? But still… she peaked over at him, sidelong through her lashes, at him leaning against the side of the pool. He looked so happy and content. Like he wasn't a captain thrust into his post at a young age and forced to oversee an entire squad of people. It was wonderful.

She ran her fingers through her black hair, trying to rinse the remainders of the mornings adventures from her locks. It would be difficult knowing if all the ink was out, as it had blended perfectly into her hair.

Toushiro was disturbed by the rippling water. Gently he began to help her scrub the ink out. "Its only fair I should help, after all, it's my fault for getting you into this mess." He remarked as she leaned into his hands.

"Thanks" she murmured, relaxing into him. "We shouldn't spend all day here though. As soon as we're done here, we should go back. I'm sure you have lots of work to do, and lots of soul reapers to bully"

He grinned again at her gently spoken comment. He enjoyed her humor far too much. He splashed her with a handful of water. "Indeed I do," he stated gravely, "perhaps I shall begin with you." Rukia awoke from her state of relaxation and splashed him back sticking out her tongue at the tenth squad captain.

"I thought captains were supposed to be dignified."

"I thought soul reapers were supposed to respect people in authority."

"The seireitei is very different from how we both thought." Rukia teased. "Now let's get out of here… I'm starting to resemble a raisin"

**Authors Note:**

**I know, I know, its been like 2 years since I updated, and I'll be surprised if anyone reads this update at all, but I appreciate it. I hope you enjoy… Im going to try and keep this going…. No promises though. **


	8. Muscles

It seemed he was never going to get any work done. Toushiro sighed, leaning back in his chair. He kept seeing Rukia glance at him while she thought he wasn't looking. That, in turn, made him pay more attention to her cautious glances. She was a curious girl. She was so weird. She seemed to like working—she had taken on a large amount of work since they had returned, although her actions were hampering his own ability to work.

Matsumoto looked on with a grin. She felt like she'd been doing that a lot lately, but everything seemed to be going SO well. "Oh Captain~!" she sang, bouncing up and down. "I think it's time we did something other than boring paperwork. Can we get some sake?" _If she could just get them drunk enough…_

Hitsugaya spared her a glance. "You aren't doing any work at all. You've been sitting there; watching us like Mayuri watches his experiments. Rukia isn't even from our squad and she's more helpful than you."

The cherry-blonde haired woman gave him her prettiest pout. "But you don't need me here. As you said, I'm not doing anything. And you two shorties have done loads! What do you need me for?"

"Shorties?"

"Whoops slip of the tongue. I meant; Oh most honored captain and cute little Kuchiki." Rukia grumbled at that.

"Oh don't be such an ice queen," Matsumoto retorted playfully, "it's positively a compliment!" she beamed.

"I suppose I am starting to get Carpal Tunnel from all this sorting and writing…" Rukia said hesitantly, not wanting to upset the captain but desperately wanting a break. Her mind was still whirling at one hundred miles an hour and it was starting to form a neat little migraine just above her temples. _If I could just rest…maybe on his shoulder. That would be comfy. NO!_ she cut herself off rapidly. She wasn't going to feed this little…crush. If it could even be called that. She'd only just begun to know him. Anything she felt at this point was shallow. It was his looks…she bet he would feel cooler than normal, just the right temperature for a fellow shinigami of ice. _Quit that_. She scolded again.

"Alright you two. Fine. But I am NOT drinking." Toushiro sighed. He should be able to stand up to them better. _Women._

"Me neither." Rukia stated calmly but firmly. Rangiku sensed she would not be swayed in the matter but tried anyway.

"Why not? It's so FUN."

"Well it's only about noon- far too early to begin such…playfulness. And two, I can't drink. I might do something to damage the Kuchiki name, and we wouldn't want _that_." It was plain that Rukia didn't care much for restricting herself for the good of the clan. She did it all the time. It meant a lot less fun on her part, but a lot less scolding from Byakuya; which was always good. His cold, calm fury made her feel guilty.

"Well I'm going to go drinking! You two will find something fun to do, I'm sure." She winked obviously. She would hate not seeing what was going on while she was gone, but alone time never hurt, and the sake seemed to be calling her name. These two were far more compatible than she'd first thought. They needed to work on the conversing, but it was obvious that Rukia at least was physically attracted to the captain. It would play out eventually.

Rukia blushed. How could Rangiku see the thoughts hidden in her mind? Not that she would do anything. But she should be free to fantasize! To her surprise Toushiro looked away from her, as though he too were embarrassed. _Maybe he was thinking the same thing as me….?_ She put her foot down on that thought. Love struck girl hunting for signs. It was ridiculous. She'd just end up hurting herself. _That's why it's called a Crush. Let it go now._ The calm and sensible voice in her head warned her.

The raven-haired shinigami abruptly arouse from her seat. Stretching her cramped muscles, she noticed that Hitsugaya had decided he could face her. His eyes lingered on the muscles she stretched. _Or so it appeared_. She ignored it, and the warm redness that threatened to coat her cheeks. She didn't blush! Nonsense.  
_

She had seemed delicate before. Now he watched her firm muscles ripple under her skin. Of course she'd be strong. She was a soul reaper, and a decent one. She could hold her own in a fight. He'd forgotten. He would never admit that of course. He was sure she'd show him full force what she could do, if she felt her ability was question. That could be something. Rukia had seemed like a butterfly at first, delicate, graceful, beautiful. He wondered if she might have a little fight in her. He bet she'd be extraordinary on a battle field. Her zanpakto was the most beautiful, he'd heard. And with that, came the idea. He didn't even realize what he was doing.

"Want to fight? Just spar—I wonder how strong you are"

_He had definitely been staring at me… but for a fight._ The romantic in her head sighed in defeat.

"Okay. But you know I am totally going to smear you."

"We'll see." He smiled at the thought of a fifth seat beating him. Of course. She may just distract him into losing with those beautiful amethyst eyes…. He sighed. Perhaps he could take care of those particular feelings once they had sparred for a few rounds….

**Authors Note: Alright, it was a filler. But hey. We are making PROGRESS. Definite fluff coming up. And maybe some plot twists? Who knows? That's the twisty part :P**


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